The Calling
by 1DeathAngel3
Summary: Mai had just gotten a scare, so she went home. That night she had a weird dream. A woman a appears in that dream. Who is she? What new adventure lies for Mai and company? Takes place after they find out about Naru's real name. Inuyasha X-over. NxM. RxR.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Boom!

The sound of thunder filled the dark, afternoon sky. All week the sky was heavy with dark grey clouds, threatening to cause a downpour. Some people found this depressing, particularly one 16-year-old brunette. She was staring out the window, bored out of her wits, which caused her to daydream carelessly, that is until a voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Mai, tea." A male voiced called out from an office not too far from her desk. She got up from her chair and headed towards the kitchen. She was kind of glad she was doing something, but bored because it was the same thing she did everyday. She gathered up everything in a tray and headed toward the office. She knocked on the door, but entered without waiting for a reply. When she went in, she saw what she usually saw every time she went in to serve her boss tea. There, she saw her employer sitting at his desk, reading through files.

"Here's your tea." She said setting down the cup in front of him and putting the tray under her arm. She stayed there watching him pick up the cup and drink some of the tea. It had been five minutes until he looked up from what he was doing and looked at her with an emotionless face.

"What?" He asked with a cold voice.

"Naru..." Whatever she was about to say, she didn't get to finish because at that time, the phone chose to ring. She went over to her desk to answer the phone hoping that, whoever it was, would be a potential client, not that she was hoping that some vengeful spirit would start harassing a family or a group of people, heavens no, she just wanted to do something before she went crazy in there.

She picked up the phone and automatically said into the receiver, "Shibuya Psychic Research, how may I help you?" At first there was silence so she said, "Hello?" but still no answer came. Suddenly she heard someone breathing in and out heavily and she started to get a bad feeling from the pit of her stomach. She then said in an accusing tone, "Alright, who is this?" She listened intently, then all of a sudden a loud and unearthly scream reached her ear. Scared, Mai dropped the phone, screamed, and stumbled backwards and fell. Naru got out of his office and ran to her. He knelt beside the frightened Mai, "Mai, what's wrong?" He asked with a hint of worry in his voice. Her eyes were wide and she was shaking. Lin was now beside Naru.

"What happened?" He asked him. Naru then responded, "I don't know." Mai blinked a few times and stopped shaking slowly. Naru then tried again. "Mai, what happened?" Mai looked up at Naru, then returned her gaze back to the phone. She spoke softly, but her voice was full of fear. "I picked up the phone to see who it was, but nobody answered. Suddenly I heard someone breathing heavily. I asked who it was, but again noone answered. Then all of a sudden, I heard a scream, but it wasn't human. It sounded like a ghost..." she paused for a moment and then said in an almost inaudible voice, "It said my name." Naru got up, went towards the phone, and picked it up. Nothing. He then put it back. Not even 10 seconds past when the phone rang again, causing Mai to jump up almost 6 feet in the air. This time Naru picked up the phone, but instead of a scream, a woman answered. Five minutes later, he hung up the phone.

"We have an appointment tomorrow at 10:30." He then looked down at the still shaken up Mai. "Mai, I want you to call everyone and tell them to be here tomorrow, then go home and rest, but I want you to be here for the appointment tomorrow." She slowly nodded her head. Lin then helped her get up.

"About the scream," she said shakily , "Maybe it was just my imagination." Trying to her reassure herself more than them. "Yeah, it was probably just me." Naru was thinking something else because this wasn't the first time something happened to her. Lin and Naru went back to their offices, but before Naru entered his, he looked back to see her dialing a number, her hand shaking. No doubt she was still thinking about the scream. He went inside to continue what he was doing, although he was somewhat distracted by what had happened earlier.

Mai was done calling Bou-san and everyone else. She then headed to Naru's office to tell him that she was going to leave. When she went in, he was typing something in the computer. He heard the door open and looked up.

"Um...I was just going to tell you that I was going home already." she said. He just gave her a slight nod and returned his attention back to the computer. She was going to say something but decided against it and left. When he heard her leave he turned to look at the now empty spot where she had been standing in. Despite himself, he was wondering if he had done the right thing by sending her home, but now it was to late to call her back**.** _'I hope she's alright'_ he thought, then scowled at himself for thinking that and returned to his work.


	2. Chapter 1

I'd like to thank **crazymel2008** for being the first to review.

**Chapter 1**

When Mai got home, she tried to distract herself with anything to forget what had happened at work. She went into the bathroom and took a long, warm bath. When she got out, she suddenly felt sleepy, so she dressed in her pajamas, knowing she wasn't going anywhere for the rest of the day, and laid down on her bed. Before she knew it she had fallen asleep, and was having a nightmare, but then again it wasn't.

**The Dream**

_She was in a place surrounded by darkness with fog everywhere. This is weird, she thought, we're not on a case, so why am I here? Immediately recognizing the place she usually would be in when they were on a case and also where she would meet Gene. Suddenly she started hearing hushed voices and she couldn't make out what they were saying, but as each second passed the voices got louder and louder. Finally she could make out what they were saying. Then she realized that they were calling out her name._

"_Mai..."_

"_Mai...danger..."_

"_Mai..._

_And just as quick as the voices had started, they stopped and then she heard one final "Mai" and realized it came from behind her. She spun around and saw a woman there. The woman was wearing brown leather pants that looked tight, but loose at the same time. Around one thigh was a strap holding a sharp, pure silver knife. On the other, was a strap holding three small daggers. On her right wrist was a leather band. Her shirt was also made of brown leather. It reached about one or two inches below her breasts, showing her stomach. On her back was a wooden stick, and Mai immediately knew that the woman was a hunter. The woman had light-brown hair like her, but her hair was a little longer. Mai looked at her face, but for some reason it was clouded. Then the woman spoke again._

"_You are in danger."_

_Mai confused asked, "What do you mean?"_

"_Your next destination, will be full of dangerous creatures."_

"_What?" Mai asked even more confused._

"_The only way I can protect you is to lend you my power and some of my memories," she paused and then said, "but it's going to hurt." Then with that, a bright light came from her, that blinded Mai. She shielded her eyes, but suddenly she started to feel a painful, burning sensation on her lower back. Mai screamed out in pain._

Ring, Ring, Ring!!

Mai shot her eyes open. It took her time to register the noise around her. Then she remembered that she had set her alarm at 8:00. She rolled over and turned it off. She sat up and remembered her dream, wincing on how she remembered the pain. But she didn't feel it anymore so she dismissed it. She got up and went to her bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. When she came out, she put on some black joggers that had two white stripes running on the side of her legs and a white t-shirt. She got her ipod, cellphone, and keys before she went out her front door. She walked to a park that was close to her home and started to jog around it.

When she went back home, the clock read 9:00. She went to her bathroom to take a bath, while she was there she pondered on her dream. Who was that woman? What did she mean about her lending Mai her powers and some of her memories? These were the questions that ran through the minds of the young brunette. When she got out, before she wrapped her towel around her, she noticed something in the mirror behind her. She looked closely and saw that there was a black tattoo on her lower back. There was two wavy lines spaced from each other perfectly, one under the other. One oval was on the top line on the far left corner of it. On the line under _that_ wavy line was another oval, but that one was on the far right corner and it was under it not on top, like the top line. Between the two lines was a single circle on both ends.(It looked like the tattoo that Lana Lang had on Smallville.) Mai looked at it wide-eyed. What was that doing there? She didn't remember getting a tattoo. Then she remembered how in her dream there was a painful and burning sensation on her back. Could this be a result of that? She went to her room in a daze. She glanced at the clock, which now read 9:45. That snapped her out of it. She dressed up quickly and swore she was going to investigate further about it, but first she needed to get to work. She didn't feel like getting killed by Naru.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

When she got to work, the clock in the wall read 10:15. She winced, knowing that Naru would scold her. And much to her prediction, Naru called her to his office, with a mad but calm tone. She went reluctantly. She knocked and when she went in, she saw Naru looking at her with a glare.

"Why are you late?" He asked in a cold tone.

"Um...I woke up late." she said, averting her eyes from his. She felt that it wasn't time to tell him what had happened. He looked at her suspiciously, but decided to let it go. Then he said, "Mai, make some tea."

"Hai!" she said a little to eagerly, which made him even more suspicious, but before he could ask questions she was out the door.

She sighed a sigh of relief. She heard the door open before she went to the kitchen, so went to check it out. Bou-san, John, and Yasuhara had arrived. She smiled and went over to greet them.

"Hey guys!" she said happily. Dream, tattoo, and scolding forgotten temporarily.

"Ohayo, Taniyama-san." said both John and Yasuhara-san with smiles on their faces.

"Good morning, Mai-chan." said the monk with a grin.

She was about to say something when the door opened and Ayako appeared followed by Masako.

"Ohayo, Ayako and Masako." said Mai. They both greeted her and they all took their seats in the small living room.

"I'm about to make tea, you guys wants some?" she asked, but they all declined politely. She nodded and headed towards the kitchen. When she got there she put some water to boil. She then started wondering about the appointment they had scheduled. _'I wonder who it is'_, she thought, but her thoughts were interrupted by the boiling water. She poured the water in the cup, put everything else necessary on the tray and was about to go to the office when John appeared and told her that the client was there. She nodded, put another extra cup with water on the tray, and went to inform Naru about the client.

"Naru, the client is here." she said, standing by the open door. He stood up from his desk and headed towards the small living room with Mai close behind. When they got there, Mai looked around for the 'client' and spotted him on the couch in front of the coffee table. At first Mai stood there temporarily forgetting what she was doing, as she gazed at the HOT 18-year-old client. He had dark raven hair that looked messy, but in an attractive way. Dark-crimson eyes that could make you melt. Very handsome facial features. And an athletic body that every girl dreamed of. She couldn't help but think that Naru and him were tied. But that wasn't the only reason she was paralyzed, she couldn't shake of the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before. Who was that guy? Where had she seen him before? Most importantly: What new case was he here to bring? These were that thoughts that were running through Mai's head. Then Mai had the weirdest feeling that she was going to find out soon enough, which wasn't a bad feeling, but it wasn't a good feeling either. It was neutral and Mai was kind of glad, but didn't know why. A voice shook her out of her thoughts.

"Mai, quit staring and bring the tea over." Naru said. She looked at him, blinked, and got out of her daze.

"Oh, I'm sorry." She apologized blushing as she set the tray down. She could feel a pair of eyes looking at her, so she turned and her chocolate-brown eyes met dark-crimson ones. She decided to introduce herself before she spaced-out again.

"Hi, I'm Mai Taniyama." she offered her hand, which took him a while to shake since he was still looking into her eyes. "Takeru. Takeru Higurashi." he finally said as he took her hand. When they touched she felt a tingle in her arm, not sure if he had felt it. What was that all about? She asked herself.


	4. Chapter 3

Thanks for the reviews!!

**Chapter 3**

She pulled her hand away, poured him some tea, which he muttered a small thanks, and sat beside Naru. She could still feel those crimson eyes on her, but decided to ignore them.

Earlier when the client had entered, both Masako and Ayako thought that he was handsome and were thinking that maybe they could flirt with him, but no. She had to come in make him give her his undivided attention. _'Why do they always have to go googly eye on _her_?' _Masako thought. While Ayako thought, '_Oh well, he was to young for me anyways'_. Noticing the look on Takeru's face towards Mai. Both Naru and Masako noticed this. While Masako was throwing death glares at Mai, Naru was glaring at Takeru. _'How dare he be attracted to _his_ Mai'_. Wait a minute, did he just say _his_ Mai? How the hell could he be attracted to his annoying employee? No, he didn't like her, he just simply didn't like the fact that guys seemed to be attracted to her and felt like tearing off their heads then and there, but no. He didn't like her at all. _'What am I thinking?'_ He thought, mentally slapping himself. Although on the outside he was as emotionless as ever.

"I thought a woman was going to come, seeing how she was the one that requested an appointment." Naru said coldly.

Takeru finally took is eyes of Mai and answered, "She was, but she had urgent matters to attend to. So she sent me instead." Mai almost fainted, she blushed and looked around noticing that Ayako and Masako looked like they were going to faint, too. _'He has a sexy, deep voice'_, Mai thought, but then heard Naru speak.

"Alright, so what's the problem?" He asked not changing his tone towards him.

"Before I tell you my story, I have to tell you some of the history of the town I live in." he announced. He took a deep breath and his face sobered up a little.

"In our town we have a small library that contains book and scrolls that date back to about five hundred years ago. There was this certain scroll that contained the history of our town. It said that back in those days, parts of Japan, including our town, were terrorized by demons. Some were real to the touch, while others were ghost-like that could posses you. It also stated that at that time there were demon slayers, exorcists, monks, and priestesses." he frowned a bit and continued, "There was some side information about a certain demon slayer/exorcist, who they called the savior of the village, as well as some people who helped that person, but that's not really important. At the end, it stated that all of the demons disappeared one day in a vast area, that's just five minutes to walk to from the last house, near the forest after a big explosion. Also attached to the scroll were detailed drawings of some demons."

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Naru with a hint of impatience in his tone.

"Hold on, this where the story comes in." Takeru said equally impatient with him. Knowing that he had clearly explained that he was going to give him background information about his town.

"A friend of my mother, who is the one that called by the way, owns the lot. He lives there, but is rarely home. Children like to play there since it's vast, he, being kind enough to let them play there, even bought a swing set for his backyard so they could have a little more fun. About a month ago, three children were playing in the backyard, when they suddenly heard noises coming from the forest. The children, being curious, went to see what it was. Two hours later, a mother of one of those kids, went to go call them since it was getting close to sunset. She checked all around the house, but couldn't find them, suddenly she started hearing screams in the backyard, so she went to check, only to see the three children panting, crying, and bleeding with all of their clothes tattered." Mai gasped at this, which earned a glare from Naru. Takeru continued, "When the children were treated, the adults had asked them what happened and they all said the same thing. They had seen a monster with red eyes and fangs. At that time I had remembered a drawing from the scroll. So I asked permission from the library if I could borrow the drawing for an hour and took it to one of the children. Once she look at it, she started crying and said it was what they saw." Naru was about to interrupt, when Takeru said, "After that incident, more things have been happening. Every time someone gets close to the house, they see things, they hear things, or worse they become possessed. About five people have become possessed and hurt someone else. About six people have claimed that they had seen something near the forest or in the house. And four said that they heard strange noises coming from there." With that he finished. Naru was thinking hard.

"Have there been any deaths?" Naru asked Takeru. Takeru's face sobered up even more. "No, but there was a child reported missing two weeks ago." Naru nodded.

"Alright, we'll take your case." he said and relief passed through Takeru's face. "Thank you. Do you need anything prepared? And how many are you?" he asked looking all around.

"There are eight of us. And Yes. We need three rooms. One to serve for our base, one for the boys to sleep in, and one for the girls. We'll arrive in two days time." This time Takeru nodded and said, "We'll be waiting." And with that he shook Naru's hand, took one last look at Mai, and left. Naru, noticing the look, glared at him from the back.

"Pack everything you need for one or two weeks." he said that feeling that this case was going to take longer than any other. Then continued, "We'll be leaving on Friday at 10:30. So make sure to be on time." he said the last part looking at Mai, which made her blush and turn away. _'Why does he always look at me?'_ She asked herself. She mentally slapped her forehead, then thought to herself, _'Maybe because I'm always late'__. _Which made her angry.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Those two days had come and gone very fast and Mai found herself being late...again. The reason was because she had a weird and scary dream that night. She couldn't stop thinking about it.

Last Night...

Mai had spent the rest of the day, after getting of work, resting since that day she had to get all of the equipment they would need ready and had done some filing. Afterwards, she went to take a bath. When she came out, she felt very sleepy so she set her alarm for 8:45 so she wouldn't be late, and fell fast asleep.

**The dream**

_Mai was standing somewhere dark, when suddenly she felt herself falling. She had felt something soft, but kind of prickly underneath her. She opened her eyes, looked around and saw that she was in a vast, green area. It was beautiful. There were roses, tulips, and many other colorful flowers surrounding it and next to it was a forest. Not only that, the ground was soft and Mai thought that if she had laid down and closed her eyes she would have fallen asleep. So she decided to stand up instead. When she turned around, she saw a two-story house in the middle of the small paradise. She walked around noticing that the house wasn't that old. It looked western-like. It had oak-paneled windows as well as a door. She was going to look inside when she heard a noise coming from the backyard so she went to check it out. When she turned the corner she saw a swing set there in the middle of it. __**'Why does this look familiar?'**__, She asked herself. Then she heard the noise again, but only this time from the forest next to the house. She went over to the edge and looked around. Nothing. __**'Maybe it's just my imagination'**__, She thought. She heard it again. __**'Nope, it isn't just me'**__, she answered herself. She decided to take a risk and went in. She looked here and there, but she couldn't locate the noise. She started to head back when she felt a sudden shiver run down her spine and a burning sensation where the tattoo was at. All of her surroundings started to disappear. She turned around and saw red eyes full of hate, hunger, and malice. She did what everybody else would do at that sight. She screamed._

She woke up screaming alongside an alarm ringing it's head off. She quickly turned it off and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She took a deep breath to calm herself down and got off the bed. Mai went to the bathroom did her business, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. She glanced at the clock, which read 9:00.

"Okay, now I have to pack." she said to herself. It took her a long time to pack. She had packed clothes for about one or two weeks, toiletries, and other things she thought she might need. Especially with having to pack for two weeks and not only that, having your mind preoccupied with something scary you experienced. She went into the kitchen to make herself some toast, when she went back she glanced at the clock only to make the toast fall from her hands. It was 9:50 already! Naru was definitely going to have her head. She quickly ate her toast, almost choking on it and got her stuff together. '_Okay. Suitcase. Check. Cellphone. Check. Keys. Check_', she said to herself, and hurried out the door.

When she arrived at the parking lot she saw Naru and Lin by the van, and what she had feared the most happened.

"Why, Taniyama-san, I'm glad you graced us with your presence." said a cold, irritated voice from in front of her. She looked up at him nervously.

"Hi there, Naru" she said fearfully. All she wanted to do was back away slowly from her boss's gaze, but to no avail. Luckily Lin, the last person she thought would save her, interrupted Naru.

"Taniyama-san, pass me your luggage to put it in the van." she gratefully walked away from him and walked over to Lin passing him her luggage.

"Taniyama-san, I'm still waiting." Naru said even more coldly. She turned around to face him.

"Well, you see...um...I just...there was traffic." she said not looking into his eyes. She knew that if she told him about her dream, he would just pass it by, so what was the point in telling him? Naru knew that she was holding something back, but decided to ignore it for a while. He went over to check if they had everything they needed with one thought in his mind. He and Mai were going to have a long talk when they arrived. Mai, grateful that he turned his attention somewhere else, went inside to see if her other companions were there, but before she reached the door she heard a voice.

"Mai, tea." She sighed. '_I'm glad he's not that mad anymore'_, she thought, noticing that he said 'Mai' and not 'Taniyama-san', which meant that his anger had reduced a bit. She heard greetings thrown at her by a monk, a miko, a priest, a medium, and a college student, as she went in. She smiled warmly.

"Morning, guys. Want some tea? I'm on my way to make some." she asked them. They all took up on her offer. She went into the kitchen and put some water to boil. A few minutes later she came out with a tray full of tea cups. She poured some for everyone, including Naru and Lin who must have went inside while she was in the kitchen. Everyone thanked her except for Naru and Lin who stayed quiet. '_Typical'_ she thought. She sat down and everyone started talking, silently, seeing how Naru was reading through a file. Mai, too preoccupied with her dreams and asking herself questions like: Why did she have that tattoo? Did it relate to the case? What was up with that place? What was that _thing_?, stayed quiet. Bou-san had noticed this.

"Mai, what's wrong?" he asked, but she didn't answer. He repeated her name three more times, until Naru, getting slightly worried but was irritated more, said, "Mai, tea." Still no answer. Frowning slightly, he made his way towards her, knelt down and looked up at her.

"Mai." he said in a commanding tone with a slight hint of worry. That snapped her to attention.

"Huh, what?" she said confused, looking around, noticing that everyone's attention was on her. She blinked and cocked her head to one side to one side giving them a confused look.

"You spaced out and wouldn't answer our calls." said the worried Monk. Then it dawned on her, she had been to busy thinking that, she didn't hear them. Oh great, now Naru was going to ask her questions.

"Oh sorry. I was just thinking about the case." she said half lying half telling the truth. They looked at her with unsure faces (except for Naru and Lin who remained as stoic as ever).

"Really, it's nothing. I'm fine." she waving her hands and smiling at them for conformation. Naru looked over at the clock.

"It's time for us to go." he said getting up, which Mai had barely noticed that he had been kneeling in front of her and made her blush. Everyone got up and started to go out the front door, but before Mai could leave, Naru called out her name.

"Mai...never mind." he said dismissing her. '_This is getting out of hand'_, he thought, _'she's been acting strangely since the scream'._ He once again swore that he was going to talk to her and went out the building door.

Mai had slept through the whole ride going to the town, which was three to four hours away. She saw occasional images in her head, but that was it. When they arrived, Ayako had shaken her to wake her up. She was about to celebrate her walking on solid ground, when she looked at the place that they were staying and only three words came out of her mouth.

"Oh. My. God."


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"What?" Ayako asked the girl that was currently in awe.

"Nothing. I was just admiring it." said the young brunette. Inside she was panicking. It was the same place she had dreamt of the night before. She hoped that the creature wasn't in the forest as she had dreamt, but seeing how they were on a case, she highly doubted it, which made her groan inwardly. The others were now standing beside her.

"Wow, it's a pretty big place." said Bou-san with a whistle.

"You can all ready tell the owner is rich." Ayako said with a tone in her voice that made you think she was scheming something, which she probably was. John's voice made them turn their attention to him.

"Hara-san, are you alright?" he asked worriedly. They looked at the medium. She was wavering a little and looked deathly pale. She suddenly talked with a small voice.

"There are many spirits and other..._things_ here, but they seem to disappear every now and then." she said the last part frowning. For some reason, Mai wasn't surprised at this. Naru heard this, making him frown slightly. They saw the front door from the house open and three figures came out. One of them they recognized as Takeru, a woman who looked a lot like him, but had a warm smile on her lips and they figured that she was probably his mother, and a man who looked the same age as the woman, only he had sandy brown hair with blue eyes. They walked towards them. Takeru smiled at Mai, which made her blush and turn away. Naru saw this and threw a death glare at him.

"Hello, I'm Misaki Higurashi. I'm sorry I wasn't able to attend the appointment." she said with a kind smile. She turned to the man next to her and said," This is my friend Kazune Matsumoto. He's the owner of this lot. Kazune, these are the paranormal researchers that I had called"

"Nice to meet you," he said with a friendly smile," I'm so glad you decided to accept our case."

It was Naru's turn to speak. "I'm Kazuya Shibuya. This is my assistant Mai Taniyama. That's Houshou Takigawa, a monk. Masako Hara, a medium. Ayako Matsuzaki, a miko. John Brown, a priest. Osamu Yasuhara, a helper. And that is Lin Koujo, my other assistant." They had all greeted them when their names were called out (except for Lin, who just nodded) and Kazune had gave them a friendly nod.

"Come inside so I can show you to your rooms." said Misaki after the introductions. All of the S.P.R members followed the three inside the house. The house was as beautiful inside as it was outside. When they walked in, they saw that there was a small entrance hall with beautiful and expensive furnishings.

"Wait here. I'll show them to their rooms." Misaki said to Takeru and her friend. They both nodded and stayed there. Naru was glad that Takeru wouldn't be joining them and smirked. Takeru, seeing the smirk, glared at him.

They had walked past the living room that was pretty big and just like the entrance hall, it also had beautiful furnishings. They all had guessed by now that the whole house would be full of them, which made them frown a bit since they knew that in some cases spirits could get aggressive. Next to it, was a beautiful dining room. Inside was a long mahogany table surrounded by many chairs, that could seat all of them. On the wall opposite of the door, were three perfectly spaced windows covering it all and two beautiful picture frames hanging in between the three windows. Misaki had stopped at a door not too far from the living room and dining room and opened it.

"Here is the room we prepared for you to use as your base. I hope it's okay." she said. Naru went in first, followed closely by the others. The room was vast and big. A little smaller than the living room, but was big enough for all of the equipment and for everyone to fit in there without being crowded.

"It's fine." Naru said an emotionless voice. Mai rolled her eyes. _'He could at least say a thank you_', she thought angrily. She was about to thank her for him, when Naru talked.

"Where are our rooms?" he asked looking Misaki.

"They're upstairs. Come, let me show them to you." she said cheerily. Then she led everyone towards the stairs. They passed some picture frames with Kazune and other people. There was one where he was hugging a pregnant woman and was carrying a child. _'Probably his family'_, she thought. They had walked past a door that was on the left, which she told them was the bathroom and stopped at a door that was next to it.

"This is where the men will be staying." she announced, "We'll meet you downstairs in the living room." she said the last part to Naru. He nodded and all of the men, lead by Naru, went in and chose which bed they would sleep in. She went a little further and went to open a door that was on the right side of the hall.

"And this will be yours." she said to the three females. She went in followed by Masako and Ayako. Before Mai went in, something caught her attention at the end of the hall outside the window. There was something shimmering there, but it quickly disappeared out of sight. Mai dismissed it as her imagination and went into the room.

"As I told Shibuya-san earlier, we will meet you downstairs in the living room." she told them and went out of the room.

The room was pretty big. There were three four-poster queen size beds against the wall opposite of the door, positioned side by side . Each girl took their pick. Masako took the one on the left, Ayako on the right, and Mai in the middle. There was a big closet connected to the room, that the three divided to unpack their clothes in. About an hour later, they met with the guys in the hall and went downstairs. They went into the living room and found Misaki, Takeru, and Kazune talking quietly. Misaki noticed them by the door.

"Come in and sit down." she said with a warm smile. She had offered to make tea for them when Mai piped in.

"I'll make it." she said. At first Misaki refused, but then gave in and told Mai where the kitchen was, which turned out to be the last door on that floor to the right. Mai had asked, looking at everyone except Naru, who she figured would want some, if they wanted tea and they all took her up on her offer. She went into the kitchen and put a lot of water to boil. She was thinking about her dream from last night looking out the window that showed the swing set and the forest, when the sound of the kettle shook her out of her thoughts. She took it off from the stove, and a thought hit her, how was she supposed to carry eleven cups full of tea and a tea kettle all the way to the living room? And as if on a cue, Takeru walked in. He looked at her holding the tea kettle and a questioning look on her face. _She's so cute_, he thought with a smile. Mai saw the smile and blushed.

"Do you need help?" he asked her, still smiling. Mai realized she was still holding the kettle in her hand, her blush intensified, and nodded.

"Alright." he said while walking over to her. He got two trays from the cabinet and set them down. He placed five cups on one tray and the rest on the other. Mai poured the water slowly into each cup.

"Are you a psychic?" he asked her while she was pouring the water.

"Something like that." she said while she shrugged her shoulders.

"What do you mean?" he asked. She put the kettle down and looked at him.

"I don't really get it either. Naru said that I have something called ESP. Which by what I know so far, is like I have a sixth sense or something like that. In the cases that we go through, I always dream of something that's related to the it, which get's us a step closer to solving the case." she said and added, "Sometimes." He looked interested in what she had said, which made her a little happy.

"That's pretty cool." he said, then asked, "Who's Naru?" Mai had realized that she had called Oliver by his nickname and flinched a little.

"That's a nickname I gave my boss. Please don't tell him I told you." she said with cute, pleading eyes. He gave her a heart-warming smile and for some reason she knew that he wouldn't.

"I won't." he told her and she felt relieved in an instant. _'He's pretty cool'_, she thought, _'not to mention HOT_', which made her blush at the thought, but she picked up the kettle and finished pouring the water in the rest of the cups. She picked up one tray and he picked up the other. They walked side by side to the living room talking about random things. When she went in Naru saw her smiling and talking to Takeru, which made him furious and jealous, he glared at Takeru. _'Wait, who said I was jealous?_' He asked himself.

'_That's because you are_'. He heard another voice in his head and recognized it as his deceased brother's.

'_No, I'm not_. _Why would I feel jealous over her?'_ He told him. He heard his brother chuckle.

'_That's because you love her_.' Gene said.

'_No, I don't_.' And broke the connection between the two of them. Mai had given him a cup of tea, he took it, and looked at Kazune with a determined expression on solving the case.


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"So, have any of you experienced anything here?" he suddenly asked them. The three of them looked at each other and nodded.

"Yesterday both Misaki and I saw a monster-like thing at the end of the hall here on this floor while we were getting your base cleaned out. And the day before that, Takeru said that he heard noises from the top floor when he was walking by the living room. Also you can sometimes see mist coming from the basement. And sometimes in the attic you could see a person, hear things like if someone was walking up there, or mist also comes out from there" Kazune said for the three of them.

"What kind of noises were they?" Naru asked. This time Takeru spoke.

"It sounded like someone was jumping up and down." he said calmly. Naru thought about it for a moment.

"What can you tell us about the missing child?" he said looking at Kazune.

"Well from what we heard, the children had made some sort of dare to go in forest after they had heard of some of the happenings here. They said they heard a scream, but they thought that he was trying to get them scared, so they let it pass by. They had waited for two hours, but he didn't come out, so they left to tell someone, but they didn't find him." he finished with a sorrowful look. Naru stood up and looked at Mai, Lin, and Yasuhara, who stood up at his look.

"Go and get the equipment set up." They nodded and went outside.

"Oh, my. It's this time already?" said Misaki looking at the clock that was on the wall, which read 7:00. "I'll go make dinner while you guys are setting up your equipment."

"I'll help you." said Ayako with a smile. Misaki smiled at her and said a thanks.

Mai was in the entrance hall holding camera things, which were falling when Takeru grabbed some of the stuff she had before they fell to the floor.

"Thanks." she said relieved, knowing that if she had dropped something, Naru would have killed her.

"You're welcome. Why doesn't that jerk help?" Takeru asked obviously irritated. Mai almost laughed realizing someone had called Naru a jerk and got away with it.

"Oh he's always like that." she said defending him a little.

"Still, that doesn't mean you have to like it." he said grumbling. Mai smiled at the thought that someone had stood up for her about the whole equipment thing.

"Well, it doesn't really matter since it's my job." she said hoping that they dropped the conversation before they went to the base and having Naru hearing what they said. Takeru took the hint, although he was fuming inside. '_Can't that jerk be more considerate?_', he thought. Naru saw Mai go in followed by Takeru, which made him mad, but didn't show it.

"Which room did you hear the noises, exactly?" he asked Takeru. He looked at Naru for a second as if thinking.

"If it was on top of the living room...I'd say the little storage room." he said. Naru nodded. An hour later they had all of the equipment set up and Misaki, along with Ayako, called them for dinner. They went into the dining room and took their seats. Kazune took the seat at the end of the table followed on the right side by Misaki, Ayako, Bou-san, and Masako. On the left side of him was Takeru, Mai, Naru, John, Yasuhara, and Lin. They ate, talked, laughed, and got to know each other better. Naru was silent as well as Lin. No surprise there. What Naru did do was give an indirect glare at Takeru for sitting next to Mai, who was talking to him. '_What does that Takeru think he is doing with _his _Mai?'_ He thought. _'Why do I keep calling Mai mine?'_ He asked himself thoroughly confused.

'_That's because you're possessive over things you like or care about_.' He heard his twin brother say in his head.

'_Why would I feel possessive over her? I don't care about her_.' He said to his brother.

'_You may think that you don't care, but you like her. In fact you _love_ her_.' He said almost laughing at his brothers denseness.

'_I don't love or like her. She's just another annoying employee_.' Naru said irritated at his brother's insistence over his feelings towards Mai.

'_Oh, if that's the case, then why do you get mad when other guys are talking to her or possibly flirting with her?_' Gene asked.

'_Because...um...' _For the first time Naru was left speechless by his brother. He heard Gene laugh.

'_Shut up and move on.' _He said angrily and broke the connection.

"Naru, are you alright?" he heard someone ask him. He looked over to see the owner of the voice. It was none other than his most precious assistant, Mai, although he would never admit that. He looked at her for a few seconds, registering the worried look on her face.

"I'm fine." he said seeing her face relax. Everyone had finished and got up, heading towards the base. They heard a voice speak up from behind them and they turned around.

"Sorry to take a few moments of your time, but I just wanted to say that both Takeru and I will be staying here with you while Kazune goes out for business. So if you need anything, just ask me or him." said Misaki cheerfully. Takeru smiled at Mai, then turned to Naru, and gave him a triumphant look. Naru glared at him, while making Mai head out the door. When they arrived he turned to Yasuhara.

"Tomorrow, I want you to go to town and ask about the people who have experienced anything here." he said. Yasuhara nodded.

"Yes, boss" he said. Naru then turned to his assistant.

"Mai, set up cameras in the attic, basement, the storage room on the top floor, one in this hallway, and one on the hallway on the second floor." he said.


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Mai huffed and got the cameras and things that she would need. _'The least he could say is please.' _she thought angrily. She went to the end of the hallway and placed a camera there. She had positioned it so that it could see the whole hallway as well as the end of it. Mai was going to go to the basement, when she realized that she didn't know where it was. _'I'll go ask Misaki.'_ She looked around the first floor for Takeru's mother, but instead found Takeru moving something in place. _'Might as well ask him'_ she thought. He looked up when she came in.

"Takeru, can you lead me to the basement?" she asked.

"Sure thing. Here, let me help you with those." he said as he took some of the burden Mai had. He started walking towards the kitchen and stopped in front of a door close to the refrigerator, which Mai had not noticed until now. He opened it and turned on a lightbulb.

"Here it is." he said as he walked down the steps. Mai followed him and quickly set up a camera there.

"I hope you don't mind, but could you take me to the storage room, too?" she said looking a little embarrassed.

"That's okay. I was going to ask if you needed my help to find places anyways." They walked to the stairs chatting a little. As they were going up, Mai saw the picture of Kazune and his family. She remembered how he never mentioned them once. She stopped thinking about that, seeing how they were in front of the storage room. She then proceeded to the hallway, and finally to the attic, which Takeru had opened the hatchway for them to go in. While they were setting up the camera, Mai couldn't hold her curiousness any longer.

"Where's Matsumoto-san's family?" she asked. Takeru frowned and didn't answer for a few moments. She decided that it was too personal for her to ask.

"Sorry. You don't have to answer that. I shouldn't have asked in the first place." she said with a regretful look. He shook his head.

"No it's ok. Someone was going to ask sooner or later." he said, then took a deep breath.

"The reason Kazune never mentioned his family, was because they died." he paused for a moment, "Two years ago, his wife and two sons were in a car accident going to meet him. At first he didn't believe it, but then afterwards he started drowning himself in work so he could forget about the pain of losing his family." he finished with a sad look. Mai was going to say something when she suddenly felt her tattoo burn, which made her turn around. She tapped Takeru's shoulder furiously. He turned, about to ask what was wrong, when he saw it. A demon. It was seven feet tall. It had red eyes and sharp claws. He was transparent, but smelled rotten. Mai was thinking fast. They were close to the exit, so she whispered to Takeru, careful not to make sudden movements.

"Go get help. Call Naru or Bou-san. They should be at the base." she said. He was about to argue when the demon charged. Takeru ran to the exit, Mai stood frozen to the spot, and the demon wrapped it's claws around her slender neck. Takeru was going to help, but two words stopped him.

"Go...now..." she stuttered. He had to get help fast. Mai struggled for breath. _'Naru. Bou-san, please hurry.'_ she thought desperately. The demon rose her three feet from the ground. She was now looking directly into it's eyes. Something clicked in her as soon as she met it's eyes. A memory. People were around her, sweating and panting, she turned to her right, and saw a half-demon there, who's face was clouded, but for some reason she wasn't afraid of it. She actually trusted it. She turned to face the front and saw the same demon that was choking her right now. She looked to her companions and saw that they were in a fighting stance. She blinked it away, as her vision was blurring. _'No, I can't blackout now' _she thought, desperately trying to stay conscious. Naru, followed by Bou-san, were now in the room panting, but Naru thought fast.

"Bou-san, exorcize it now." he said with a small crack in his voice. Even though he was calm and emotionless on the outside, he was panicking on the inside. Bou-san didn't waste any time. He started chanting and the monster started to disappear slowly with screams full of agony. She was about to faint, when the demon released her, causing her to fall three feet to the ground, but before she hit it, she felt strong arms underneath her.

"It's alright." a voice said. With that she felt the world around her go dark.


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

_Mai was again surrounded by darkness. She looked around and saw nothing. She called out, but got no answer. She sank to her knees feeling desperate. She closed her eyes and started to feel like she was falling. She opened them and saw a grassy field in front of her. Beside her was a rocky road. She stood up and noticed that she was leaning on a tree. She felt a little pressure coming from her leg, causing her to look down. She gasped. Mai saw that she was wearing the exact same thing as the woman in her dreams. She was interrupted from her thoughts by voices behind her._

_"Come on Eilena." said a female voice. Then another voice appeared._

_"Yeah, better hurry before Sango and Kagome get mad." said a male voice._

_"Shut up Miroku. We're not the ones that are getting impatient. It's Inuyasha." said a different female voice. Mai turned to face them and saw them standing there, not even ten feet away. _

_There were two females and two males. One of the girls was wearing some sort of a ninja suit, had her hair in a ponytail, had a huge boomerang on her back, and a small two-tailed demon was beside her. The other girl had her hair down, she wore ancient priestess robes and on her back was a bow and arrows. The man beside her wore monk robes. He had short hair that was wrapped in a small ponytail on the back of his head and had a staff on one hand, that had beads wrapped around it. The other man was wearing a red kimono. He had a bead necklace around his neck and a sword on his hip. His hair was silver and he had dog ears. **'Half-demon Inuyasha. Wait, how did I know that?' **she thought. She also knew all of her other companions names, even the little two-tailed demon's name. They were, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara. She felt something on her shoulder. It talked._

_"Come on Eilena, you know Inuyasha's going to throw a fit." she turned her head a little and saw that it was a small fox demon. **'Shippo' **she thought. He was the size of a small toddler, he had orange hair tied in a ponytail, and a bow on top. Mai smiled. For some reason she loved their company._

_"Will you hurry up Eilena? You know we ain't got time to sit around doing nothing. We have to catch up to him and his helper." she looked up to see Inuyasha right by her face with a determined look._

_"I know. Let's go." she said. As she left she grabbed hold of Inuyasha's hand and dragged him along. His hand tightened around hers. All of a sudden the scene in front of her dissolved. She turned around and saw the woman, which Mai now knew that her name was Eilena. Her face was a little less clouded, but she still couldn't see her face right._

_"It seems you have seen one of my memories." she said. Mai was not surprised to know that it was the Eilena's memory. Then she remembered her tattoo._

_"Why do I have a tattoo on my back and why does it burn?" she asked. Eilena took a few seconds to answer._

_"The tattoo on your back is my mark and now it is yours. The reason it burns, is because it can feel the presence of something evil. Even if it's a mile away. What you have not noticed about it is that it also glows faintly while it burns." she paused, "Get used to the feel, for more is on it's way." she said and disappeared._

Mai.

Mai.

She heard someone call her. She closed her eyes and felt herself being shaken. When she opened them again, instead of seeing the darkness and Eilena, she saw Naru only a few inches apart from her face. She blinked trying to figure out where she was. Naru leaned back to give her space. Mai got up slowly and her hand suddenly went to her neck. She winced a little.

"What happened?" she asked. She looked around to see everyone there except for Misaki. Mai was going to say something when Misaki burst in with a tray.

"Oh, you're awake. Thank goodness, we were all very worried about you." she said relieved. Everybody took this moment as a sign of doing something. Bou-san went over to Mai and kneeled down in front of her.

"You alright, Mai?" he asked worriedly. Mai gave him a small smile and nodded. "You sure? Because when we got to you, you weren't breathing anymore and well..." he left the unfinished sentence trail off. She gave him a confused look saying what-are-talking-about?. This time Ayako answered.

"As Bou-san said, when Naru got to you, you weren't breathing anymore. He brought you here and performed CPR. After a little while you coughed, but you didn't regain consciousness." she finished. Mai blushed at the part that Naru had done CPR and put her fingers to her lips.

"What was that thing anyways?" asked Ayako changing the subject. Mai's blush left as soon as Ayako mentioned the demon. Mai knew that it was the spirit of a demon that Eilena and the rest of her friends had killed. But what she didn't know, was why had it attacked her when it could have attacked Takeru for running. She frowned a bit. Naru who was watching her looked up.

"It seemed like a spirit of a demon." he stated. Takeru's eyes widened.

"Now I remember where I had seen it before." he said and looked at Naru. "It was one of the drawings that was attached to the scroll." he said. Naru looked at him for a second and turned to Yasuhara.

"Tomorrow I want you to go to the library and get copies of the scroll and the drawings, after you are done with your other assignment." he turned to Takeru and said, "I would like you to accompany him tomorrow and show him to the library." Takeru looked at him for a few seconds and nodded. Naru looked at Mai.

"Mai, I want you and John to get the temperatures of every room." she nodded slightly. He looked over at Masako. "Hara-san, I want you to go walk around the house to see if you can sense anything. Matsuzaki-san, accompany her." he said the last part not even looking at her. "Bou-san, I want you to perform any exorcisms that need to be done." And with that everyone went to do what they were told to do.

While Mai and John were walking down the second floor hall, Mai was thinking about the demon and frowned. John saw this and instantly grew worried.

"Taniyama-san, are you ok?" he asked with a worried look. Mai saw this and smiled at him.

"Yeah, don't worry. I'm fine." she said. He looked a little unsure, but didn't pursue the matter. About an hour later, everybody had gone back to the base to report on their work.

"What did you find Hara-san?" asked Naru almost instantly. Masako took a moment to answer.

"Well, it's hard to describe. I feel presences and sometimes I smell things, but then they suddenly vanish." she frowned a bit, "I feel presences in the house and on the outside, mostly coming from the forest." Naru was in deep thought. He looked at Bou-san.

"Well, what can I tell you? I did feel something and made small exorcisms and like Hara-san said, it felt like they disappear sometimes, but they are most definitely here." he finished scratching his head. Naru nodded.

"Mai." he said, waiting for her reply.

"All of the rooms temperatures were normal, but some went up and down." Naru held up a hand to stop her.

"What do you mean?" he asked. This time John spoke.

"Well, sometimes the temperature would go up two degrees, go down four, and then return to it's normal temperature." Naru frowned slightly.

"Where?" he asked.

"The attic, storage room, basement, the boys room, and the walk-in closet on this floor." Mai said. Naru was thinking hard and Mai thought she could almost hear the gears in his brain turning.

"We'll continue this tomorrow. Everyone go to your rooms." Everyone was too happy to oblige. Before Mai left she looked at Naru.

"Naru...don't go to bed too late." she said with a half smile. She wanted to tell him about Eilena, her dreams, the tattoo, and everything else, but for some reason she thought that she shouldn't. She went up to her room and found Masako already in the bed while Ayako was changing in the bathroom. When Ayako came out she said goodnight to Mai and laid down on her bed. Mai changed quickly because she felt a tug on the back of her brain. When her head hit the pillow, she was fast asleep.


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

_Mai thought that she was going to see Gene, but instead saw a memory of Eilena. Mai **was** Eilena. She was walking with her friends in a desolate field with abandoned houses. Everything was turned over. Some houses were broken. There were scorch marks all over the place. **'Their was a fire here' **Mai thought. They were looking around, trying to figure out what had happened. They went all over the village to see if anybody was left behind. Mai went inside a house looking through the rooms, when she came into one with a shattered mirror. She looked into it and saw Eilena's face. She gasped. Suddenly everything around her went dark. She turned around to see Eilena, only this time, she could see her face.___

"You look like me." was all that could come out of Mai's mouth. Eilena smiled. Mai was surprised. To her, it looked like she was looking in the mirror. She was about to ask her something when Eilena, as if reading her mind, answered her question before she could ask it.

"The reason you look like me, is because you are my descendant and because part of my soul is fused with yours." she said. Mai was confused. Sure she had asked herself who she was descended from, but she never thought that her ancestor looked exactly like her and that she was a hunter.

"What does that mean?" Mai asked. At first it looked like Eilena wasn't going to say anything, when all of a sudden she attacked Mai. She was surprised that she had done that, but was more surprised that she had actually **dodged** it.

"It means that you know everything I know." and with that both her and Mai were fighting. They were, punching, kicking, dodging, jumping, and doing some back flips. For some reason Mai actually **liked **to do that. She smiled. Eilena had caught her off guard and made her trip. In an instant Eilena was on her and about to punch her when Mai put her hands up and the next thing she knew, Eilena was on the floor a few feet away from her.

"What was that?" she asked, now very confused. Eilena got up smiling.

"That was power that you summoned. In your words, PK power." she was a little confused, but felt happy.

"Go. They are calling you." Eilena said. Mai nodded, but before she left she hugged Eilena, who surprisingly hugged her back.

She closed her eyes and felt herself being shaken. She opened them groggily and saw Ayako standing over her.

"Finally, sleeping beauty awakes." she said sarcastically. "Get up already, Naru is angry and getting on my nerves." Mai got up and started to change quickly. By the time she went down everyone was in the base. She felt Naru's eyes on her, but didn't want to meet them.

"Taniyama-san, I'm glad you decided to join us." Naru said. Mai flinched. He was very mad.

"Um...I'm sorry." she said sheepishly. Mai heard Masako snicker. She turned around and glared at her.

"I'll go make tea." she said and turned around to leave. She was relieved that he didn't stop her. She was walking down the hall excited about her dream, when she bumped into someone. She was about to fall when that same person wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her close. She looked up to see...Takeru. She blushed furiously.

"S-sorry." she stuttered. She was about to get away from him when she felt hands on her shoulders that pulled her away from Takeru. She looked up to see who it was. It was none other than her narcissist boss, Naru.

"Were you not suppose to accompany Yasuhara-san to the library?" asked Naru apparently annoyed. Takeru shrugged.

"He told me that he wanted to go alone, so I just gave him the directions and he left." said Takeru.

He was throwing a death glare at Takeru and Mai didn't know why. He suddenly started leading Mai into the kitchen. When they got there he left her by the stove and as he left he looked up at her.

"Mai, hurry and make the tea." he said and left a very confused Mai standing there. _'What was that all about?'_ she asked herself. A few minutes later, she was heading towards the base with a tray in hand. When she went in, she immediately served Naru his tea and sat down.

"Alright. Now that _everyone _is here, I want everyone to do the same thing as yesterday and come and report." Naru said. Mai looked around and saw that Yasuhara wasn't there. _'Oh, yeah. He went to collect the information' _she thought. She got up and headed towards the door with John. When they got to the living room, Mai's stomach started to growl. John looked at her.

"You haven't eaten breakfast, have you Taniyama-san?" he asked. Mai shook her head blushing. "Alright then. I'll get the rest of the temperatures while you eat." he said kindly. Mai tried to object, but he wouldn't let her. She finally gave up and went to the kitchen. She was surprised to see Takeru making tea. He turned around and looked at her.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable a while ago." he apologized. Mai looked at him for a moment and then shook her head.

"That's okay. You caught me before I fell, so I should be thanking you." she said with a bright smile, which made him smile back, but the happy moment was ruined by her growling stomach. She looked away embarrassed. He laughed silently and got some eggs and bacon from the refrigerator. Mai saw what he was doing and was about to stop him, when he shook his head.

"Nope. You have work to do, so I'm going to make you breakfast." he said in a tone that said _you're-not-going-to-stop-me_. She gave up on trying to stop him. She spaced out a little thinking and the next thing she knew, there was a plate with eggs and extra crispy bacon in front of her. She almost drooled. She looked up at him and gave him a smile full of thanks. She ate slowly and savored every bite. When she was done she got up and washed her dishes. She said one last thank you to Takeru and went to look for John. She went to the top floor, but didn't find him. _'He's probably back at the base.' _she thought. She went towards the stairs, when she started hearing voices. She got closer and saw Masako, Bou-san, and Naru talking. She leaned on the railing to get a closer look, but made sure that she wasn't on the verge of falling.

"It's the same as yesterday." she heard Masako say.

"Same here." said Bou-san. Naru was again thinking hard. Masako suddenly looked up at Mai.

"Naru!" she screamed. Both Naru and Bou-san looked up in the direction Masako was looking. At the same time Masako had sensed something, Mai felt the her tattoo burn.

"Oh, great." she said. She turned around quickly, but was too late to get away from the hard push that made her go over the railing. Naru, Bou-san, and Masako stared wide-eyed at seeing Mai fall. Their hearts had stopped. Mai knowing what to do, turned to the right, and landed on the ground perfectly without making a sound. Mai no longer felt the presence, or to be exact, her tattoo wasn't burning anymore. She, realizing what she did, sighed deeply. '_Great. Now I have to explain what I just did.' _She turned around to face them and saw that they were pale with a face with mixed emotions. Surprise, shock, and a horror. It took them a minute to realize that Mai was alright.

"Mai!" they scram in unison, which caused her to jump. They went over to her, Bou-san with worry written all over his face, Masako was composed, but worry could be seen in her eyes, and finally Naru, who was totally emotionless. Bou-san suddenly carried Mai to the base, although she protested the whole way there. When they got there John, Lin, and Ayako were looking at them with questioning looks. (Yes, even Lin had a questioning look.) Bou-san put Mai down on the couch, checking her everywhere, which made Ayako get up and hit him on the back of his head.

"Ouch!" said Bou-san rubbing the back of his head. "What was that for?"

"Leave her alone you pervert." said an irritated Ayako.

"I was checking to see if she was okay. She fell from the top floor you know." he said grimly. Ayako eyes widened a nanosecond later and started to check Mai from top to bottom, but Mai stopped her.

"Guys, I'm alright." she told them. Naru looked at her.

"Mai, how did you do that?" he asked her. She looked at him and she knew he was series this time. If she lied to him, he wold personally take her out and interrogate her, which is exactly what Mai didn't want to happen.

"I took gymnastics when I was small." she said trying very hard for her eyes not to betray her. Naru was going to press further when Yasuhara came in the door. Naru's gaze stayed on her for a while, then turned to Yasuhara. Mai sighed with relief.

"What did you find out?" asked Naru.

"A lot of things, boss." Yasuhara said.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Yasuhara got three files out and handed two to Naru, but the other one, he kept to himself.

"It was easy to find them. All I had to do was go to the rare books and scrolls shelf and there they were." he said, quite satisfied with himself.

"The first folder talks about the history of this town." he paused remembering what he had read. "As Higurashi-san said, this place was inhabited by all kinds of demons. Short, small, ghost-like, big, strong, and many other kinds. There were monks, demon slayers, and priestesses. There was said to be small and very few demon slaying villages, who would be called upon and they would go to exterminate them. Monks would go around exorcizing demons and spirits. Priestesses would help, heal wounded people, and also would exorcize demons and spirits." he paused again to breath a little. "It states that it all ended on one day in this very same place with one huge explosion and that all of the demons never appeared again, as well as those people who were fighting them off. There wasn't much information about that incident since, before all of that had happened some people, who were fighting all of the demons, told them to evacuate the area. I tried to find more information about those 'people', but I couldn't find any. Oh, and the second folder has all of the drawings of demons." he finished and gave Naru time to look through the folders. Naru looked through the folders and passed around the one with the drawings. He looked up at Yasuhara.

"What about that folder you have?" he asked, but before Yasuhara could answer, Misaki interrupted them.

"Lunch time." she announced cheerfully. Everyone got up to go to the dining room and Mai, as hard as she tried to get in the front, ended in the back with Naru.

As they walked pass the walk-in closet, she felt her self being pulled inside. The door of the closet closed and she got pinned to the wall gently. She looked up to see Naru looking intensely at her. His face only inches from hers.

"I know there are things that you are keeping from me." he said. "But I'm going to find out one way or another." Mai was starting to get a little scared and Naru saw this. His eyes softened in an instant.

"You need to tell me what you know Mai." his voice softened. "I wouldn't be able to stand it if you got hurt or got taken away from me." Mai blinked. Her heart was beating very fast. _'Did he really say that?'_ Mai asked herself. They looked into each other's eyes, causing Mai to blush furiously. He leaned down closer, in which their noses were touching. His lips were hovering over hers. He couldn't resist it anymore and crashed his lips onto hers. They shared a sweet, gentle kiss. In that instant Mai felt that she would die happily. She always wondered what it would feel like to kiss him and now she knew that it was way beyond her expectations. She wrapped her arms around his neck while he pulled her closer. They broke the kiss reluctantly and took a deep breath. He leaned close to her and whispered softly in her ear.

"We need to go back." and slightly nibbled her ear, which caused her stomach to leap. He pulled her gently away from him and headed for the door, but not before he gave her another kiss. She was now alone in the closet, thinking about the kiss. Mai knew that her face was redder than a tomato as she walked down the hall. She took a moment to calm her beating heart and to rid her face from the blush, before she walked into the dining room. Noone looked up at her, but when she sat down she earned a few questioning glances. She gave a sidelong glance at Naru, only to see that he had his poker face on. It looked like nothing ever happened between them, but there was one thing that slightly gave him away. His lips looked very rosy. As if he had just gone through a kissing marathon, but that wasn't necessarily true. He just kissed Mai.

She picked at her food. She wasn't really hungry, seeing how she had a late breakfast. After everyone was done, since she wanted to avoid all of the questions that might have been thrown at her in the base, she offered to wash all of the dishes alone. Misaki gave her a grateful smile, who went to clean, while Takeru went out to buy some groceries that they needed. Mai went to the kitchen with all of the spoons, plates, cups, and forks on a tray. As she washed dishes she thought of what had happened and everything that came to her mind. She was finished washing dishes, when she heard a small creak. She looked out the window and saw that a small boy was sitting on one of the swings. Mai went out the door that headed to the backyard and sensing no danger, she sat next to the boy.

"Hey, there. What are you doing here?" she asked him. Mai had figured that all of the children would have stopped coming, seeing how strange things were happening. He didn't respond and kept his head down. She was starting to ask him something else when he suddenly rose a hand and pointed at the forest. Mai followed his finger, but saw nothing. She looked back at the boy only to find him getting up. Mai finally saw what he looked like. He had short, dark brown hair as well as his eyes and had a somewhat babyish face. Mai was going to ask his name when he suddenly started running towards the forest. Mai had no choice, but to follow.

"Hey, it's dangerous over there!" she yelled after him. She ran for what seemed like forever, which were actually thirty minutes, and stopped. She had lost sight of him. Mai looked up and noticed that she had stopped at a small clearing. She walked backwards while she looked around. Then she suddenly felt the earth beneath her tremble and from one second to the next, she found herself falling. When she landed, the wind got knocked out of her. She knew that the drop should have been pretty far since she landed without being able to breath. She laid there for a second, trying to catch her breath. Then, finally stood up. Mai checked to see if anything was broken or sprained. Nothing. She sighed in relief.

"Hey, is anyone up there?" she asked, although she knew it was stupid.

"Hey, little boy, are you there?" she called out, but got no answer. She closed her eyes in trying to think of a way to get out of there. When she opened them, she saw a tiny glint to her right. She turned to look at it. There she saw a tiny, gold music box. Mai got down on her knees and started to dig to get it out. Once she was done, she looked closely at it. There, on the side of the box, intricately engraved, was her tattoo. Mai was shocked at first, but then opened the box with delicate fingers. It was empty. She was a little disappointed and was about to close it when she noticed a small knotted rope that was the similar color as the base. She pulled it and the base lifted. There, neatly placed, was a necklace.

**__**

Meanwhile...

'_Where is she?'_ Naru thought impatiently and is if Bou-san had been reading his mind, he asked that exact question.

"Hey, shouldn't Mai have been back already?" he asked trying to keep his cool and not think bad thoughts. Everyone nodded in agreement. As if on a cue, Misaki walked in.

"Do you need anything?" she asked. They shook their heads.

"Higurashi-san, have you seen Mai?" asked Ayako. Misaki looked at her confused.

"No. I thought she would have been back by now." she said now worrying. Everyone looked down with only one thought in mind.

'_Where is Mai?'_


	12. Author's Note

**Author's note**

**So for not updating guys. School and writer's block is not doing good for me. Not to mention my computer messed up and all of my documents and story is there. Again i apologize and hopefully i can get my computer working again. **

**I hoped you don't get too impatient!! .**

**Thanks for reading my story though!!!!**


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